What are the best training methods for German Shepherd puppies?

[Kaia Murphy]

Hi everyone,

Since I’m new to the breed, I’ve been trying to read up on the best ways to start training a GSD puppy. I keep seeing a mix of advice. Some say focus on socialization and obedience right away, others say let them be a puppy first and don’t worry too much until they’re older.

For those of you with experience, what worked best for you in the early months? Did you follow a certain method or trainer, or just stick to basics like sit, down, and leash walking?

I’d love to hear what you think is most important to focus on with a young shepherd so they grow up to be well-behaved and happy.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Malakai The Great]

Great question, Kaia. Honestly, the best approach with a young shepherd is to think of training as life skills rather than strict obedience drills. At 8 weeks, their brains are like sponges, so it’s less about “perfect sits” and more about building positive habits.

For me, the priorities were:

Socialization - Safe, positive exposure to people, places, sounds, and surfaces. Not just meeting dogs, but learning the world isn’t scary.

Engagement - Teaching the pup that looking to me brings fun. Games like name recognition, “come,” and short tug sessions go a long way.

Basic skills - Sit, down, place, and leash walking all in short, fun bursts. Sessions at that age are just a few minutes long, mixed into play.

Confidence building - Letting them explore, climb little obstacles, walk on new textures. Shepherds thrive when they learn to problem-solve young.

I’d say don’t worry about “being strict” right away. Keep it positive, keep it short, and focus on making yourself the most rewarding thing in their world. The formal obedience polish comes later, but the foundation of focus and trust starts on day one.

You’re asking all the right questions, and your future pup is going to benefit big time from the effort you’re putting in now.

 

[Kaia Murphy]

Great question, Kaia. Honestly, the best approach with a young shepherd is to think of training as life skills rather than strict obedience drills. At 8 weeks, their brains are like sponges, so it’s less about “perfect sits” and more about building positive habits.

For me, the priorities were:

Socialization - Safe, positive exposure to people, places, sounds, and surfaces. Not just meeting dogs, but learning the world isn’t scary.

Engagement - Teaching the pup that looking to me brings fun. Games like name recognition, “come,” and short tug sessions go a long way.

Basic skills - Sit, down, place, and leash walking all in short, fun bursts. Sessions at that age are just a few minutes long, mixed into play.

Confidence building - Letting them explore, climb little obstacles, walk on new textures. Shepherds thrive when they learn to problem-solve young.

I’d say don’t worry about “being strict” right away. Keep it positive, keep it short, and focus on making yourself the most rewarding thing in their world. The formal obedience polish comes later, but the foundation of focus and trust starts on day one.

You’re asking all the right questions, and your future pup is going to benefit big time from the effort you’re putting in now.

This makes so much sense, thank you for laying it out like that. I like the idea of focusing on life skills instead of worrying about perfect obedience right away. The confidence building part really stood out to me. I wouldn’t have thought of little obstacles or textures as training, but it sounds like such a fun way to help them grow.

Do you usually just mix those things into daily walks and playtime, or do you set aside training sessions for it?

 

[Malakai The Great]

This makes so much sense, thank you for laying it out like that. I like the idea of focusing on life skills instead of worrying about perfect obedience right away. The confidence building part really stood out to me. I wouldn’t have thought of little obstacles or textures as training, but it sounds like such a fun way to help them grow.

Do you usually just mix those things into daily walks and playtime, or do you set aside training sessions for it?

Glad that clicked for you, Kaia. Confidence building is one of those things that looks like play to us, but to a pup it’s a big deal. Walking across a wobbly board, stepping onto metal grates, or climbing over a small log might not seem like training, but it builds resilience that carries over into everything else.

As for how I fit it in, I do a mix of both. A lot of it happens naturally during walks or play. If we’re out exploring, I’ll let the pup climb something or sniff a new surface, then praise like crazy when they do it. That way training blends into daily life. But I also set aside a few short sessions each day (2–5 minutes) where the focus is on engagement games, basic commands, or shaping little challenges.

Think of it as layering training into their world rather than carving out big chunks of classroom time. Keeps it fun for them and easy for you.

 

[Kaia Murphy]

Glad that clicked for you, Kaia. Confidence building is one of those things that looks like play to us, but to a pup it’s a big deal. Walking across a wobbly board, stepping onto metal grates, or climbing over a small log might not seem like training, but it builds resilience that carries over into everything else.

As for how I fit it in, I do a mix of both. A lot of it happens naturally during walks or play. If we’re out exploring, I’ll let the pup climb something or sniff a new surface, then praise like crazy when they do it. That way training blends into daily life. But I also set aside a few short sessions each day (2–5 minutes) where the focus is on engagement games, basic commands, or shaping little challenges.

Think of it as layering training into their world rather than carving out big chunks of classroom time. Keeps it fun for them and easy for you.

That makes a lot of sense, thank you for explaining it like that. I really like the idea of blending it into walks and playtime so it feels natural instead of forced training time. I think I’d be way more consistent if it just became part of our daily routine like that.

Do you have a favorite little confidence game or challenge you usually start with for young pups?

 

[MyDogBitz]

I think this is best answered in the socialization thread. Follow that thread and you'll have a better behaved dog then 90% of the general public.

Thread 'German Shepherd Puppy Socialization: The Ultimate Guide'

Sep 10, 2025

One of the most important things you can do for your German Shepherd puppy is proper socialization. A well-socialized shepherd grows up confident, stable, and a joy to live with. Skip it, and you risk reactivity, fear, or behavioral issues later.

Here’s a simple roadmap:

When to start
Socialization begins the moment you bring your puppy home (usually around 8 weeks). The critical window is between 8–16 weeks, but keep it going throughout their first year.

Key experiences
Expose your puppy to as many safe, positive situations as possible:

• People of all ages, sizes, and...

• Malakai The Great
• Replies: 11
• Forum: Training and Behavior

• 

From 8 weeks to about 16 weeks of age I concentrate on environmental exposure (my term for socialization), recall, and developing play.

At about 16 weeks I start luring, shaping and introducing/reinforcing my markers.

At five months old I teach leash pressure, loose leash walking and naming behaviors.

At 6 months old I'm training with play and negative reinforcement, proofing in tough environments and by 8 months old we're off leash in just about every environment I can get away with. We're also doing fun stuff like barking and biting on command - which is really just an extension of play.

At 10 months old I'll start preparing the dog for his 1 Year vet visit. We will work every night on the "stand-for-examination" routine. I do this on a raised platform I built in my basement.

All of these time lines are loose, not strict. Also, I have a full time job plus kids. Some days and weeks I'm not getting the training in I want too. There's a lot of weeks we're just playing and not doing much else.

I keep the sessions short and fun. Always fun. I save the weekends for field trips and off leash hikes. We usually hit up the ice cream spot after our hike and we split an ice cream cone. LOL. It's quite the site, I'm sure.

 

[Kaia Murphy]

I think this is best answered in the socialization thread. Follow that thread and you'll have a better behaved dog then 90% of the general public.

Thread 'German Shepherd Puppy Socialization: The Ultimate Guide'

Sep 10, 2025

One of the most important things you can do for your German Shepherd puppy is proper socialization. A well-socialized shepherd grows up confident, stable, and a joy to live with. Skip it, and you risk reactivity, fear, or behavioral issues later.

Here’s a simple roadmap:

When to start
Socialization begins the moment you bring your puppy home (usually around 8 weeks). The critical window is between 8–16 weeks, but keep it going throughout their first year.

Key experiences
Expose your puppy to as many safe, positive situations as possible:

• People of all ages, sizes, and...

• Malakai The Great
• Replies: 11
• Forum: Training and Behavior

• 

From 8 weeks to about 16 weeks of age I concentrate on environmental exposure (my term for socialization), recall, and developing play.

At about 16 weeks I start luring, shaping and introducing/reinforcing my markers.

At five months old I teach leash pressure, loose leash walking and naming behaviors.

At 6 months old I'm training with play and negative reinforcement, proofing in tough environments and by 8 months old we're off leash in just about every environment I can get away with. We're also doing fun stuff like barking and biting on command - which is really just an extension of play.

At 10 months old I'll start preparing the dog for his 1 Year vet visit. We will work every night on the "stand-for-examination" routine. I do this on a raised platform I built in my basement.

All of these time lines are loose, not strict. Also, I have a full time job plus kids. Some days and weeks I'm not getting the training in I want too. There's a lot of weeks we're just playing and not doing much else.

I keep the sessions short and fun. Always fun. I save the weekends for field trips and off leash hikes. We usually hit up the ice cream spot after our hike and we split an ice cream cone. LOL. It's quite the site, I'm sure.

Wow, thank you for breaking all that down so clearly. It really helps me see how the timeline can look in real life! I love how you keep things structured but still fun and flexible with kids and work in the mix. It definitely makes the whole process feel less intimidating.

And oh my gosh, that photo of Bomber eating ice cream was adorable! He looked like he was enjoying it!

I’ll definitely take a look at that socialization thread you mentioned too. One thing I’m curious about, what exactly are markers? I’ve seen the term a few times but I’m not totally sure I understand it.

 

[MyDogBitz]

Wow, thank you for breaking all that down so clearly. It really helps me see how the timeline can look in real life! I love how you keep things structured but still fun and flexible with kids and work in the mix. It definitely makes the whole process feel less intimidating.

And oh my gosh, that photo of Bomber eating ice cream was adorable! He looked like he was enjoying it!

I’ll definitely take a look at that socialization thread you mentioned too. One thing I’m curious about, what exactly are markers? I’ve seen the term a few times but I’m not totally sure I understand it.

Markers, signals, queues these are how we communicate with our dogs. A positive reinforcement aka reward marker could be "Yes!" followed by a food reward. The idea behind markers is to create a pavlovian response to the marker. I'll make a post on them later on but there's tons of great stuff on markers if you do a Google search.

 

[Kaia Murphy]

Markers, signals, queues these are how we communicate with our dogs. A positive reinforcement aka reward marker could be "Yes!" followed by a food reward. The idea behind markers is to create a pavlovian response to the marker. I'll make a post on them later on but there's tons of great stuff on markers if you do a Google search.

The way you explained it makes total sense now. Kind of like giving the dog a little verbal snapshot of “Yes, that’s exactly it!” before the treat.

I’d definitely be interested if you make a post about them later